Returning Home DISCONTINUED
by LizziLizzi5500
Summary: Anya, waking up in Rivendell in Middle - Earth as an Elf Princess, is surprised to find her younger sister there as well. They both join the Fellowship on their quest to destroy the One Ring, while Anya has promised Lord Elrond that she will return to Rivendell to help found the New Age of the Elves. Will she find love along the way? Also posted on Wattpad. OC / Legolas romance
1. Whoa! What happened?

Returning Home 1.

As I woke, I could tell that it was still early morning. Keeping my eyes closed, I recalled the dream I'd had last night. And Elf, male with long blonde hair and blue eyes, told me that I was one of the Elf Princesses of Imladris. Then he asked me to return to Middle-Earth with him. Yeah, as in Lord of the Rings. I'm completely obsessed with the books and films. To the point where my friends tell me to shut up about it before I've even started talking. But even by my standards it was a weird dream.

I opened my eyes, and immediately I could tell that I wasn't in my room. Pale cream walls and ceiling, dark wood floorboards and ceiling beams. Old fashioned furniture made of the same dark wood lining the walls. Even the bedsheets and my pyjamas were different. Soft blankets instead of my red cherry patterned duvet, and a white nightdress with pale pink rosebuds embroidered around the hem.

I sat up with a gasp. I knew this place! "Imladris," the Elf in my dream had said. Well, that's where I was. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window, just to make sure. The sun was just rising, illuminating the ground below with its' pale light. Sure enough, I could see an oh-so-familiar courtyard. I was really in Rivendell!

As I turned around, the door opened noiselessly. An Elf, a female, was standing in the dark wood panelled doorway. She spoke. "Please change into some clothes - you will find some that fit you in the wardrobe. I will wait out here for you." then she left, closing the door behind her.

After the Elf had left, I stood staring at the door for a few seconds. Tolkien had not been exaggerating when he said that Elves were "fair." The Elf at the door had flowing dark brown hair down to her waist, and light blue eyes as bright as stars. Any human could have those features, but this Elf just seemed more... flawless than any human could ever be.

I shook my head violently. Concentrate, Anya! I walked over to the wardrobe, trying to contain my excitement. I was really, truly in Rivendell! And, if I was to believe the rest of my dream as well, I was an Elf Princess! I put my hands up to my ears. No, there were still normal size and shape. My hair wasn't growing either, and I knew that if I looked in a mirror my eyes would still be emerald green. Oh, well.

The clothes in the wardrobe were certainly Elvish though. Dark green and brown - forest colours- tunic tops and leggings. There were also dresses in similar colours, but I never like wearing them, they make me feel self conscious. I chose the brightest green tunic top from the selection, which matched my eye colour exactly, and some soft brown leggings. Pulling them on, I also picked out a slim leather belt. I folded up the nightdress and left it on the pillow, after making the bed.

I walked slowly over to the door. Pushing down the ornate handle, it slid open as easily and silently as before. As she had said, the Elf was standing outside the door, waiting. She looked at my choice of clothing approvingly. "The colours match your eyes," and then she smiled. " Come. There are many people who would like to meet you."

As I followed the Elf through the corridors and paths of Rivendell, I wondered how I had ended up here. Why had they chosen me, if indeed they had, to come here? I was just a normal 15 year old girl. Sure, I had a slight obsession with Lord of the Rings, but there were loads of other people like that as well.

But I had no more time to think about it, because the Elf stopped in front of a door. This door was, quite obviously, a king among doors. It was at least five metres high, made of solid dark wood, and intricately carved so that every single leaf on the giant tree that stood before me could be clearly seen. I could only stare in amazement as the wooden doors began to glide slowly open, splitting the magnificent tree in half. The Elf stepped back, implying that I should go in before her, so I did, still stunned by the sight of that door. But what I saw inside surprised me even more.

The door opened onto a spacious flower garden. Sitting at a table set up in the middle were Elrond, the 9 members of the Fellowship of the Ring, and my younger sister, Rosalind! There was one spare seat at the table, between Legolas and Rosalind. Elrond, who was seated at the head of the table, gestured for me to sit down, so I did. I looked back for the Elf that had brought me here, but she was gone.

"Anya, Rosalind, I suppose you are wondering why you are here," Elrond began, addressing my sister and me. "The truth is, you are both Elf Princesses of Imladris, that is Rivendell in the Common Language. You are the Daughters of Arwen. When you were two years old, Anya, and Rosalind was born, your mother agreed to allow us, the Elves, to send you to Earth. We wanted to make sure it was possible for Elves to live in your Earth, because the Third Age of Middle - Earth is soon to end. Then the Age of the Elves will die out here. Our plan was that, if you survived in the mortal Earth, to take all of the Elves, those that wished to leave here, back with you. There we would begin a new Age for the Elves.

Those fourteen years ago, my daughter Arwen made a sacrifice of huge proportions, allowing both of her Daughters to leave our world, possibly never to return. She would very much like to meet you again."

As Elrond finished speaking, an Elf with dark wavy hair, similar to the first Elf that showed me to the garden, stepped out from behind one of the many rich trees in the garden. I recognised her at once; Arwen Undomièl, of Rivendell. Rosalind's and my birth mother. I didn't even think about doubting Elrond's words. It just seemed... right, somehow. I glanced at Rosalind. She wore an expression of amazement and understanding on her pale face, showing exactly how I felt.

As Arwen came over to the table, Elrond and Legolas stood. Everyone else quickly copied, including Rosalind and me. She spoke to Rosalind and I, her voice no more than a beautiful whisper. " Aniæla, Roselín. My children. How beautiful you have grown to be." She took my hand, and Rosalind's, and led us away, further into the garden. Then we walked around for hours, Rose (Rosalind in short) and I telling our mother about our lives in the mortal world.


	2. Legolas the Stupid

When the sun slowly began to set on the horizon, Arwen led us back to our rooms. She left us there, saying that she would send a messenger to get us for dinner later Rosalind's room was right next to mine, so she came in to talk. "I still can't really believe we are in Rivendell," she told me. "It's like being in a dream."

"I know," I replied, watching the sunset out of the window. "Looking back at our lives before, it all seems kind of fake, as though it didn't really happen. Now my brain is telling me that this is where I really belong."

Soon, an Elf knocked on the door, summoning us for dinner. We followed her through the corridors to a large dining hall. Everyone from the garden this morning was there, along with about 50 other took us round to the other side of the table, where Arwen, Elrond and all of the Fellowship were sitting. There were two empty places for us, each side of Arwen. We sat down, and everyone strated eating. The food was amazing: all sorts of different salads and pastries and bread. I ate until I was absolutely full, ad I couldn't eat another mouthful without bursting. Then I sat and talked to Legolas, who was sitting next to me on the other side. He wanted to know about my life on Earth, and in return he told me about his life in Mirkwood and taught me some Elvish phrases:

Mae govannen.

Pedich Edhellen?

O man dôr túlien le?

Man sad Imladris?

Nai Valaraukar tye-mátar.

By the end of the meal, we were getting on quite well, and I began to wish I could spend more time with him, and get to know all the others, before the Fellowship left for Mordor.

When everyone had finished eating, Elrond stood and announced that everyone should come into the hall next to the dining hall for singing and poetry. As everyone got up to leave, Legolas pulled me back into my seat. "Wait," he told me. "I want to show you something. You can go and listen to them singing later, they'll go on for hours." "Wha-" I began to ask, but he stopped me. "Come on, let's go." He half-dragged me out of my seat, and then ran down the now empty dining hall towards a door at the far end. Very quickly. When he FINALLY realised that I was not an actual Elf yet, he stopped and turned around. "Sorry, Anya. I forgot," he grinned sheepishly, his beautiful voice echoing down the room. He waited for me to make my way over to him. It seemed like a snail's pace compared to his running speed.

"Come ON, Anya! We'll never get anywhere at this rate!" He laughed, and pushed open the door to reveal another garden, but with less flowers and more trees. Just around the corner was a wall of bows and sheaths of arrows. "Have you ever done archery before?" he asked me. "If you're coming with us you need a weapon of some sort, and most Elves are naturally skilled in archery." Coming with them? What did he mean? I decided that it didn't matter for the moment, and shook my head. "No, never. I'd like to try though!" he looked over the vast choice of bows for a moment, before picking one out and handing it to me, along with a sheath of twenty four arrows. "Right. Are you left or right handed?" he asked me. He then proceeded to show me how to hold the bow, and how to set the arrows on the bowstring.

By the time I had used up all of the arrows in my sheath of 24, I was hitting the centre of the target almost every time. "Legolas," I began tentatively, as he corrected my grip on the bow. "What did you mean when you said 'coming with us'?" He dropped his hands to his sides. I'd said something wrong; it was obvious from the expression on his face. "Oh. I just assumed that - that your mother would have told you already…" "Told me what? Legolas, what's happening?" I was really confused now. Evidently I was missing something here, but I really had no idea… "Well, if you don't know, it's probably better if I don't - why don't you go and ask your mother? Or Lord Elrond," he suggested. Ugh. Why couldn't he just tell me already? It's not as though it was going to be some massive thing, probably just a walk outside of Rivendell. Then I realised that the thought of it _did_ scare me. Maybe I should go and ask someone else.

"Fine then," I growled, throwing the bow and sheath down on the ground. "I'll go and ask my _mother. _I'm sure _someone _will tell me what's going on." I stormed off back to the door that led to the dining hall. "Wait! Anya, I'm so-"

I slammed the door behind me.

* * *

A/N:

Elvish translations:

_Mae govannen - _Well met.

_Pedich Edhellen?_ - Do you speak Elvish?

_O man dôr túlien le?_ - From what land do you come?

_Man sad Imladris?_ - Where is Rivendell?

_Nai Valaraukar tye-mátar._ - May Balrogs devour you.

Let me know what you think! I want to know! Thankies :D


	3. Please, call me Bilbo

Returning Home 4.

I stormed off down the halls, fuming with anger. Why couldn't Legolas just tell me what was going on? He should've made sure I knew about whatever it was before talking to me about it! Now all he'd done was made me angry.

I heard the faint sound of singing, so headed towards it, hoping that Arwen would be in there, or someone to point me to where I could find her. I was just getting close, when I turned a corner and very nearly bumped into...

"Legolas. Why are you following me? Go away!" He looked down at me, regarding my angry face for a few seconds before answering. I didn't walk away, because his big blue eyes were so beautiful... No! Not beautiful! I mentally slapped myself a few times, turned around, and walked off around the corner again. There had to be some other way around, because that way was hazardous to my sanity. Surprisingly, he didn't call after me, but after a few minutes he appeared at the end of yet another corridor.

"For goodness' sake, Legolas, can you teleport or something? LEAVE. ME. ALONE!" The puzzled expression on his face was priceless. Not for the last time, I wished I had a camera. Not possible, of course, not in Middle-Earth, but still. "Telly- what? Listen, Anya, I came to apologise to you. I know, I was wrong. I should have waited until-" He stopped talking when he realised I had walked off, leaving him on his own. Really, if he didn't leave me alone, I was going to do something I would regret.

As I headed back towards the sounds of singing again, I resolved that next time, I would just walk straight past him. As though he wasn't there. As though he didn't exist. So when I found him leaning against an archway, clearly waiting for me to get my slow human feet to drag me over there, I pushed straight past him. "He's not there, He's not there, He's not there," I chanted in my head, although I could feel his eyes boring holes in my retreating back. "He's not there, He's not there, He's not there." I hadn't risked a glance up at his face as I brushed past him, but I could definitely imagine it. Those eyes...

I found the Elves without any more trouble. I guess Legolas had decided that I wasn't having any of it. "Apology," indeed! I actually found the room by retracing my steps ad entering through the courtyard entrance. There were two entrances, one opening onto a courtyard and another set of doors, which were closed when I came in, opposite. Frodo and Bilbo were sitting by the door, deep in conversation. I didn't really want to disturb them, but then again I didn't want to go parading across the whole, very large, room to find someone else I vaguely knew, just to ask them where Arwen was, and then probably have to leave again. I couldn't see her anywhere in the room, although it was very big.

"Ah," exclaimed Bilbo, as I reluctantly sat down beside them. "I was wondering when you were going to put in an appearance, Anya." the surprise I felt must have registered on my face, because then He explained. "Yes, yes, I do know your name. Why, I even remember the day you were born! I had been visiting Rivendell around that time, you see, and Elrond asked me to stay to see you. You had big, bright blue eyes, and hair so blonde it was almost white. Just like the Elves of Mirkwood." I frowned slightly at the word 'Mirkwood'. Luckily, Bilbo didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't mention it. "...Rivendell, Anya?" What? What did he say? "Excuse me? I didn't catch that." I managed to splutter out eventually. Both Frodo and Bilbo laughed. "I asked, how are you finding Rivendell, Anya?" Frodo repeated. "Well, it's... there's a lot... the Elves are very friendly." I managed, cursing myself inwardly. Stupid, stupid, stupid! "And what about the Hobbits?" he asked. Oops. Forgot about them. "Oh - um, yes, them- I meant, you too." Both of them cracked up laughing, while I decided that it would be extremely convenient for me to be devoured by a Balrog at this very moment.

When Frodo started hiccupping and gasping for breath, Bilbo stopped laughing, and thumped him on the back. "Now, Frodo my lad, it wasn't really that funny. Calm down." I found this kind of strange, since he had been laughing just as much. Frodo, still hiccuping violently, went off to get a drink of water. "I'm sorry about that, Anya, but this is a bit of a catch-up for Frodo and I, having not seen each other for a few years. Now, I sense that you are a bit preoccupied. What can I do for you?" What was it that I was going to ask? In all the drama of the past 20 minutes, I'd forgotten completely. "Um, I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you, Mr. Baggins, but I was wondering if you might be able to tell me where I might find my mother? I need to ask her something." Bilbo smiled. "There's really no need to call me Mr. Baggins, Anya. You may call me Bilbo. And yes, I believe that the Lady Arwen is out walking in the garden. The same garden you were in only this morning. She came in here earlier looking for you, actually. If you don't remember the way, I'm sure there will be Elves around. Just ask for The Lady's Garden."  
"Th- thank you very much, sir." I mumbled, and stood up to go. "Anya," he called. " Call me Bilbo, or I shall have to complain to your mother about your lack of manners!" He saw the look on my face. "I was only joking! But please, do call me Bilbo."


	4. Finding Out

Returning Home 5.

It wasn't hard to find the garden. I'd been there before, and it was just a matter of retracing my steps back to the dining hall, which didn't take long. As I stepped out into the cool night-time, I breathed in deeply. I had never really been a nature person, but now, knowing that I was part Elf and all, it was different. I could see clearly through the night, although there were also paper lamps in the trees, guiding me along a smooth sandy pathway. I kept going along it, because I just knew that I would find Arwen somewhere along it, don't ask me how. And sure enough, soon I heard the sound of voices. Yes, voices. That is, more than one. I recognised my mother's voice immediately, but the other...

"You are troubled, Legolas, I can sense it. What is wrong?" I should have known. Legolas. I tried to keep quiet, even though I knew eavesdropping was wrong I wanted to know what they were saying. "Well, I had been talking to Anya earlier," he began. "We got along quite well at dinner, and I wanted to teach her how to use a bow. And... Well..." He stopped, looking down at the sandy pathway. "I mentioned that she might be coming with us, and she got a bit angry when I wouldn't tell her any more. I suggested she ask you, but she had run off by then. I don't think she likes me very much." he confessed. A bit angry? I was _fuming_! Steam spouting out of my ears! How _DARE_he? Telling me half of a secret, refusing to say any more, and then running off to tell my mother! "Ah, but he did try to apologise," said the extremely irritating little voice inside my head. "Three times, if I remember correctly, which im sure I do. Four, even!"

However, the stupid little voice was soon stifled. I tried to catch up with Arwen and Legolas, because they were beginning to walk away, but fell flat on my face after tripping on a loose pebble. They heard my involuntary gasp as I hit the floor, hard. "Ah," said Legolas, knowingly. "I think we've found her." He jumped over the bush I had been hiding behind, and offered me his hand to help me up. I just ignored him and stood up by myself, brushing off the dirt from my clothes & hands. "Are you hurt?" he asked me, trying to keep the peace. Again, I ignored him and went round to speak with my mother. "I need to ask you something," I started, businesslike. "Legolas said something about 'coming with us'. Could you please explain, as he does not seem to be able to?" I glared at him.

"Legolas, please leave us. I need to speak with my daughter." she addressed him, and he bowed low and disappeared into the trees. Then she turned to me and smiled. "Anya, you really mustn't be angry at Legolas. He was completely right in not telling you. It was not for him to tell, he just made a mistake, just like all of us do. Are you still annoyed?"  
"Yes, I am" I replied. "If he knew it was not for him to tell, he should not have mentioned it. So it is completely his own fault that I'm angry. Now can you PLEASE tell me what it is, or I might have to explode?" She smiled, and her whole face lit up with it. "Patience, my daughter, is clearly a virtue which you do not possess. But yes, I will tell you now. Aragorn and Boromir had asked me if I might allow Rosalind and you to join them on their quest. I agreed, because I think it will be a good learning experience for you. I have already asked Rosalind, and she has chosen to go. Now you must decide." Wow. What a bombshell. But was Rosalind really going? Sweet, quiet Rosalind, with her long blonde hair and big blue eyes, was going on a violent, dangerous mission? Where it was possible that she could _die? _Well, if she could go, so could I. "Yes." I said confidently. "But now I'm a bit tired, can we talk about it in the morning?" I yawned, and then almost fell over again, tripping over my own feet.

We walked back through the garden slowly, but I didn't see any sign of Legolas, which was strange. I'd have thought he would have been waiting nearby until we'd finished, but he must have gone back to the other Elves to join in the singing.

I don't remember much else. I was too tired after the whole long string of events of the day. I think Arwen left me at the wall of bows, but I'm not sure. I just know that I fell onto the bed, still fully clothed, and fell asleep straight away.

* * *

~*~*~*~ Legolas' POV ~*~*~*~

I found Anya asleep on a bench near the archery targets we had been practicing with earlier. She was curled up and resting her head against her arms. I just couldn't leave her there, out in the darkness, so I picked her up and carried her to her room. I didn't want to wake her, because I knew that she would just start shouting at me again. She started to stir, though, when we got nearer her room, so I just left her by the door, feeling guilty. "She would have disturbed everyone else," I told myself afterwards, "You did the right thing." But I wasn't so sure.

* * *

A/N: Hi! I hope you're all enjoying my story! I'm guessing that if you read this far, you want to keep reading, right? Well, good news for you - it's the HOLIDAYS, so I'll be writing loads and loads because i have nothing better to do. I'm aiming for a chapter every 1 or 2 days.

For those of you who are wondering / a bit confused, i stuck the original chapters 1&2 together because they were really short. If you're still confused, PM me.

REVIEW! i want to know what you think!

:D Lizzi xx


	5. Leaving Rivendell

The rest of our time in Rivendell passed very fast. Too fast, maybe. Most of the days were the same: waking up early to beat the Hobbits to breakfast, then Rosalind and I had archery lessons with Legolas or a different Elf, called Sadron. Most of the time it was Legolas, though, which was unfortunate for me. After the first few lessons, during which I ignored him completely and just chatted to Rose, I somehow 'forgot' to turn up and wandered through the flower gardens. I always made sure to check whether he was in the gardens before breakfast, so that I knew where to go afterwards; whether I avoided the archery range or not.

But today I had tried something different. I woke up much earlier than I normally did, although I didn't know at the time, so when I went to check the garden, Legolas wasn't there, and neither was Sadron. I found this strange, because normally one or the other was there waiting for us. I decide to wait and see who it would be, but I couldn't wait there; what if it was Legolas? So I climbed a tree next to the wall of bows, well out of the way of the archery range, so that I wouldn't be shot at, and found a comfy branch to sit on.

An hour later, I was kicking myself for my stupidity. Legolas had turned up soon after I had climbed the tree, and I couldn't get down without being spotted. So I had to sit in the tree, hardly moving at all for fear of rustling the leaves and being heard. After about 3 and a half hours of sitting in the tree, Legolas and Rosalind decided to finish off. I breathed a sigh of relief, and Legolas' Elf ears must have picked it up, because his head whipped round and he looked right at the tree I was in. I wasn't sure if he saw me, because I was quite high up, but he definitely heard me. He probably would have climbed up to investigate if Rosalind hadn't been telling him to hurry up, so he took one last look at my tree, an then disappeared in a flash of green. When I was sure that they'd both gone, I jumped down and ran off in the opposite direction.

That evening, the night before we were due to leave, when I was sitting in my room teaching myself Elvish from a book Arwen had lent me, a piece of tightly folded paper appeared under the door. I jumped off the bed and ran to the door, hoping to see who it was. There was nobody there, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed a flash of green disappearing around the corner. But none of the Elves of Rivendell wore green inside, only in the forests... I went back into my room and shut the door behind me, then picked up the paper. Maybe there was a name in it? I wondered as I unfolded it. In the middle of the paper there was a single line of italic writing written in black ink;

** _ I saw you in the tree today - why didn't you come and join in? _**

* * *

All too soon it was time to go. The day we were leaving, Gandalf came round and knocked on all the doors with his staff, waking us all much earlier than I was used to. Both of us still yawning, Rosalind and I went over to join the rest of the Fellowship, Elrond and Arwen where they were standing by the gates. There were two massive bags on the floor, which I guessed were Rosalind's and mine since everyone else already had theirs. We all said our goodbyes, and then Elrond started an extremely long and tedious speech, most of which I zoned out was really it. We were leaving Rivendell, and possibly never coming back! The thought scared me so much that I began to think I maybe wouldn't go at all, but just stay here. "No," I told myself firmly, as Elrond finally stopped talking, "You are going, Anya. If Rosalind can go, then so can you."

As everyone double-checked their enormous bags, Elrond called Rose and me over. "Girls, I hope you were listening to what I just said," he began, and I started feeling a bit guilty. "If you should want to turn back, there will always be a place for you here. We would like you to return here after the Ring is destroyed; so that you can come with us back to the place you call 'Earth,' if you wish." I wondered why the Elves wanted to leave here. If the One Ring was destroyed, then surely Sauron would finally be defeated and everything could go back to normal. But I guess if they really wanted to leave, my place was with them. "Yes, I will come back." I told them. Rose agreed, and we went back to the gates.

"I checked your bags," Legolas told us, holding them out. "Everything you need is in there." Rose thanked him as he handed hers over, but I just ignored him and took my bag. Rosalind glared at me. I could tell she wanted to say something, but she didn't want to embarrass me in front of Legolas. She is my sister, after all. The gates began to glide noiselessly open. With one last wave to the Elves, we set off.

As Legolas went off to the front to ask Gandalf something, Rosalind stopped and turned to me. "Why did you do that?" she asked me, accusingly. "He was being nice! Helpful!" She didn't get it, and I didn't really want to explain the whole story to her. So I just said, "Doesn't matter, Rose," and walked on. After a few seconds, she ran to catch up with me. "But Anya, it **does** matter! You can't go making enemies already, when we're not even out of Rivendell yet! Legolas might well die to save your life, and then how would you feel?"

"Rosalind, that is never going to happen. Stop being so dramatic." I told her, and she finally got the hint and shut up. We kept walking in a frosty silence until the evening.


	6. Wolves!

Returning Home 6.

As it began to get dark, Gandalf decided that we should stop for the night, as the Hobbits looked dead on their feet, and even Boromir was short of breath. Gandalf sent Legolas and Boromir off to find some dry wood to start a camp fire, and then we all sat down to rest. Pippin turned to me expectantly. Even exhausted, his eyes still managed to light up at just the thought of food. "What?" I asked him, after a few seconds. His unblinking gaze faltered slightly. "Well, I just assumed that, you being one of the girls of the group, you would be..." His voice trailed off into uncertainty as he say my dagger glare, directed at him of course. If looks could kill he'd have been minced into ribbons within milliseconds. "Pippin. Firstly, that is a sexist comment which I, and probably a lot of people, do not agree with. Secondly, even if I was going to cook, you wouldn't want me to because I am terrible at it. Okay?"

His eyes widened, and Aragorn grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "Now, don't be too hard on him, Anya," he admonished. "I'm sure you know about Hobbits' love for food, and Pippin is not even 33 yet. That's when Hobbits come 'of age', so to speak."  
"Surprisingly, Aragorn, I did actually know that," I replied coolly. "I was just giving Pippin some tips on how not to speak to a female. Right, Pip?" I turned back to him, and to my relief, even through the dim light of the fire I could see his huge grin. "Yep, that's absolutely right, Aragorn. You must have started eavesdropping at the wrong time, that's all." he told him, to which Aragorn sighed grumpily and sloped off back to the other side of the fire.

I stuck my tongue out at his retreating back, and so did Pippin. I grinned back at him. "High five," I told him, holding up my hand. He looked completely and utterly bamboozled, so I showed him what to do. "Look, if I hold up my hand like this, you slap it with your hand. See?" It took him a few tries to get it right, but when he finally got it his concentrating expression cracked into a smile and he ran off to show Merry his new trick. 'So easily pleased,' I thought. Pippin was really cute sometimes, he and Merry. Not as in boyfriend material cute, but like little kids. They still were, really.

The distinctive smell of cooking meat wafted past my nose. I looked over, and saw Sam stirring a pan over the camp fire with a wooden spoon. Intrigued, I went over to him. "We've got stew for supper - Legolas shot a few rabbits, and Boromir found a patch of 'taters," he told me. Ugh. Legolas. "Well, it smells really good, Sam. I bet it will taste nice, too." he smiled, that Hobbit smile that they all had in common. "Well, thanks Anya! It's ready now, actually." He raised his voice to the whole camp site; "Stew's ready! Bring your bowls up, everyone!" I went back over to where I'd parked my things, and rummaged through my bag looking for my bowl. 'It's probably right at the bottom - just my luck,' I thought. Just then, I heard a voice behind me. "It's right here, Anya. It probably just fell out when you were looking."  
"Oh, thanks," I replied, without thinking. Then I turned to take it. Yep, you guessed it right. Those deep blue eyes caught mine, and I think I stopped breathing for a second. Then my wooden bowl landed in my lap. I looked back and he was gone. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" the little voice in my head taunted. I ignored it and went to get my dinner.

The stew was very good, and as I sat chatting to Pippin and Merry, who were bombarding me with questions about 'the Other World,' as they called it, I forgot all of my problems and worries of what was going to happen to us. But they soon came back, when Gandalf asked me to be on the first watch, "Along with... Well, seeing as Legolas will be awake the whole night anyway," At this the Elf smiled slightly, "He can take the first watch with you." I sighed inwardly. Goodness, I thought Wizards were supposed to be intelligent!

As everyone else got out their bedrolls and started preparing for the night, Legolas came over to me. "You can take this side, and I'll watch over there," he gestured to the far side of the camp site. I nodded, keeping a straight, expressionless face, and then went to get my bow, sheath and sword from my pack and took up my place facing away from the fire.

The next few hours passed in relative silence. I found that my ears were picking up much more than they would have done normally - one of the perks of being an Elf. But then I heard a very definite rustling of leaves behind me. Grabbing and arrow from the sheath on my back, I whipped around. Legolas was standing in a battle stance at the bottom of the tree he had been sitting in, bow strung and ready for action. "Wolves!"

I turned, and sure enough I could only just see a few grey-black muzzles a few trees back, ready to come advancing into the clearing. "ATTACK!" we shouted in unison, rousing the rest of the group. Aragorn, the fastest to react, jumped up grabbing his sword and kicked Merry's leg accidentally, causing him to wake and cry out in pain. The second scream was both a blessing and curse. It woke the rest of the group completely, but also drew more wolves. They advanced faster on our group, all of us clutching swords or bows or, in Gandalf's case, staffs. Then, all of a sudden, Aragorn let out a battle cry and charged at the foremost wolf, slashing at its' muzzle. the wolf reared up on its' back legs and howled, but Aragorn stabbed it through the heart, killing it instantly. A bloody battle ensued. I fired arrow after arrow, hitting wolves right, left, and centre. I was vaguely aware of Legolas next to me, doing the same, but nothing was certain in this hell.

Slowly but surely, the numbers of wolves attacking began to decrease. Eventually, there were just a few left, when I sensed, yes sensed, a grey-black shape moving to my left. I turned, and saw a lone wolf about to pounce at the others to take care of the two others that remained, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Legolas! To your left!" He reacted just in time, turning to face the wolf, but there were no arrows left in his sheath. He reached for his sword, but at that moment the wolf jumped for his arm. Instinctively, I shot the wolf in the side, but not before it had taken a bite at Legolas. It fell to the ground, dead, red blood on its' muzzle.

I looked back to Legolas, worriedly. His shirt was ripped, and there was blood flowing out of a huge gash on his upper arm. His face was struggling not to show it, but I could tell he was in terrible pain. "Legolas! Are you okay? How bad is it?" I asked him, frantically, all the cold anger from the past weeks forgotten. I couldn't be mad at him, not now. "It's fine, Anya, it will be gone in a minute." Stupid Elf pride. He saw the look on my face. "No, really. Elves heal much, much faster than humans." He placed his right hand over the injury, wincing. "But..."  
"Really, Anya, it was only a scratch! Stop worrying so much!" Pulling his hand away, he turned to show me his arm. Through the tear in his sleeve I could see a lot of blood, and a thin pink scar where the wolf had taken a bite at him. I gasped, alerting Gandalf, who had been kicking the wolf bodies out of our camp site. "What is it, Legolas? Oh, just a scratch." he said, confirming Legolas' words. I looked up at him in disbelief. "See, Anya? It was nothing. But if you hadn't warned me, I'd be dead. You saved my life, thank you." I was shocked at his bluntness. "It's... It was nothing." I told him, and he smiled. "You should get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day."


End file.
